On Oct. 25-26, 2012, the NASA History Program Office, NASA's Science Mission Directorate, the National Air and Space Museum and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory hosted a symposium to mark the 50th anniversary planetary exploration. The event was held at the Lockheed Martin Global Vision Center in Arlington, Va. Below is the agenda, as presented at the event.

Note: Many, but not all, panelists presented slide shows with their talks. Links to slide presentations are listed below.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first successful planetary mission, Mariner 2 sent to Venus, the NASA History Program Office hosted a two-day symposium outlining the history of planetary exploration.

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012

Opening remarks by James H. Crocker, Vice President and General Manager, Civil Space, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

Keynote Speech

Peter Westwick (University of Southern California): Exploring the Solar System: Who Has Done It, How and Why?